Local Students Get a Head Start Into the Healthcare Profession

While some high school students are content to just focus on attending classes, getting their homework finished and enjoying time with their friends, others start planning very early for life after Graduation Day.

Adam Schueller is one such student.

Schueller, who is gearing up for his senior year at Germantown High School, already had a pretty good idea about what career path he’d like to follow. Now, after completing the Healthcare Career Academy program earlier this summer, his mind is made up. He plans to become a physical therapist after attending college at either the University of Wisconsin or at Marquette University.

“One of my goals with this program was to see more professions in healthcare,” Schueller said. “I came in thinking about being a physical therapist and this helped me reaffirm that I am going to be a physical therapist. I’m interested in this career because I want to stay close to sports and I was able to see that I can do it.”

The Healthcare Career Academy is a three-week program created by Community Memorial Hospital and the Menomonee Falls School District. Juniors and seniors from Menomonee Falls, Germantown and Sussex Hamilton high schools were interviewed in order to qualify for the program. Those who were selected got a rare opportunity to learn firsthand what it takes to work in a wide variety of healthcare occupations.

The students were able to shadow professionals in nursing, laboratory, medical imaging, physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, pharmacy and social work/case management, among other occupations. Through observation, hands-on experiences and classroom discussion, the students were able to expand their awareness and find out which of these occupations might make for a rewarding career.

“Not only did I see physical therapy, I saw respiratory therapy, surgery, occupational therapy, nursing and nursing administration,” Schueller said. “So I kind of saw the whole hospital, not just one side or one part of it.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, healthcare is one of the largest industries in the United States, with more than eleven million jobs, including the self-employed. Nine out of twenty occupations projected to grow the fastest are concentrated in healthcare services.

April Okruszynski, who is also a senior at Germantown High, was one of eight students chosen from a field of 25. She admits she had no idea what to expect from the program.

“Going into it, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Okruszynski said. “I knew I had an interest in physical therapy but the Healthcare Career Academy really opened up a lot of new things that I was interested in. It gave me a better idea of what I would like to do and what I really have no interest in.”

Like Schueller, Okruszynski says that going through the program really confirmed her interest in becoming a physical therapist.

“Normally, the sessions last about four hours but you meet with (health professionals) and every day is a different day,” Okruszynski said. “You’ll see pharmacy and all of the different rotations.  You observe and you ask a lot of questions because that’s how you learn. You really get to see what a day is like for each job.”

And what would April offer in the way of advice to other students who might consider the program?

“Oh, I’d say do it,” Okruszynski said. “If you are interested in the medical field, it’s the best thing to do. You get hands-on and you see everything for yourself.”